Smithfield's Bria Kelly wins another round of 'The Voice'

Smithfield teen singer headed to playoff round

Kelly, an 18-year-old senior at Smithfield High School, continued her winning streak on the popular reality singing competition show, winning the decisive vote from her celebrity coach Usher.

In the "Final Battle" round, Kelly went up against an even younger competitor – Madilyn Paige, the 16-year-old dynamo from Provo, Utah. For their duet, they chose the 1994 Pretenders power ballad "I'll Stand By You." The show's producers made local fans wait; the pre-recorded showdown between Kelly and Paige was the sixth and final one to air on the two-hour episode.

In preparing for their duet, Kelly acknowledged that Paige could have an advantage because she has "a ton of control in her voice." Their selection of "I'll Stand By You" would challenge Kelly to show more of that control, after she drew high marks in earlier rounds for her powerhouse versions of James Taylor's "Steamroller Blues" and Janis Joplin's signature song "Piece of My Heart."

Usher agreed with his fellow coaches — Shakira, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton — that both young women gave uneven performances in the song, but he decided to stick with Kelly. Paige was given new life when Shelton chose to take her onto his team.

In explaining her motivation, Kelly said: "I want a future in music, and Virginia doesn't really offer that. I want to be someone people can look up to and say, 'We can get out of this tiny town and do something amazing.' "

Tuesday night's hourlong episode, which airs at 8 p.m. on local NBC affiliate WAVY-TV 10, is listed as the premiere of the "playoff" round, in which the final 20 performers will compete to see who makes it to the rounds involving live broadcast performances.